Does this sound dodgy ,poss distraction burglary set up ?

[walchesterweasel]

My 95yr old aunt has just told me that last week a man came to her door and said his runaway cat was in her garden, could he look for it. I thought immediately it sounded like a distraction burglary technique but the next bit has thrown me and I can't make sense of it. He showed her his phone with a video of the cat walking along the fence in her back garden and on a tree. How could he have this ? She said it was black and white footage, now I'm wondering if he did it at night. She hasn't got cameras or even internet.
No cat was found but he didn't leave a name or number which seems suspicious . She also said he mentioned that the sat nav in his car lead him to her home.
I am worried , has anyone heard of this before ?
Thanks

Hi Op,
Just a thought but could he be a neighbours of your aunts and that's why he didn't leave a name/number because he assumes she knows who he is?

Also the B&W footage could have been filmed on a wildlife camera that is set up trigger on movement at night. We have one and the videos it records are all B&W. Wildlife cameras can be quite small, about half the size of a house brick so you can easily move them around.

I have to admit it does sound quite dodgy like he filmed a random cat on her back fence and then said it was his cat to get access onto her back garden.

If I were you I'd contact the her local police to see if this is a known scam and to ask their advise.

Not heard of this scam but agree it sounds suspicious. Could you get a ring doorbell, linked to your phone, so you can see who is coming to the house?

Sounds well dodgy

It could be dodgy, anything could, but it could also be plausible. Our local FB group always has people on saying things like 'missing our beloved cat Treacle for 3 days now, tabby with a fluffy tail, Church Lane area, could people check gardens, sheds and CCTV'. And people do. He could have been sent the footage by a neighbour.

It could also be dodgy, but the above also happens quite a lot!

In order to have footage of his cat - or a random cat - walking along her garden fence, he must live next door or know the next door neighbour.

Could the neighbour have known he was looking for his cat, saw it, filmed it and then sent the video to him?

Distraction scammers don't usually have video footage of your back garden.

Very suspicious, I should get a doorbell camera and possibly other cameras for her if I were you.

It looks more like a neighbour looking for his lost cat than an attempted distraction burglary to me.

Cat could have a GPS collar, hence the sat nav taking him there. Re: the video, was it definitely your aunt's garden? Maybe he was just showing her a video of his cat so she knew what it looks like? I imagine at 95 and on a small phone screen, the video wouldn't be massively clear and one fence might look like another.

Deliaskis ; that seems most benign explanation but they are bungalows with high fences, I don't think a neighbour's wildlife camera would pick up something in her garden and surely they would come round and say that they might have seen Fluffy Tail in her garden and they were going to tell ex neighbour as they were looking for it .
Acunningruse ; would she need a router to have Ring ?
LeftFootForward ; Do you think someone 'planted ' a camera in her garden for future use ?
He said he didn't live nearby , surely if the last sighting of a cat was in a known place you would leave a number in case it turned up ?
She doesn't like a fuss so I don't think she would agree to me speaking to police but there is a retired police officer inn the road so I have asked my aunt to speak with her.
I want dismiss it but it sounds so odd I am worried

I once had to knock on someone's door to see if I could go into the garden to grab my Cat who had managed to sneak through a gap in the hedge at my side but couldn't manage to find his way back back through again. Although given his gigantic size you couldn't miss said Kitty sitting looking perplexed at the fact he was no longer in his own garden but in one that's about 6 times the size of mine. Of course the little monkey then scarpered off and finally found his way back about 5 hours later.

I did wonder if the video was just a generic one but bit of a gamble , she might have had a wall and no trees , not a fence . I did think about GPS collar and could have gone along with that as plausible but video from possible neighbour who possibly saw a notice seems a bit thin.
Could someone say if she needs a router for Ring please ?
Thanks all

Ring doorbell needs wifi yes.

Just found out a possible explanation for video. I recounted the story to my son and he showed me that if you enter the word 'cat' on google there is an option to see it in 3D . If you hold your phone up to the garden the virtual cat appears in the garden , moving and behaving like a cat. It was amazing , there were many types of dog and wild animals to choose from. I think it could explain it